Untitled Sermon

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 1

a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

*He calls himself a servant of Christ Jesus, servant being a strong term meaning “slave” (used in similar fashion in Gal. 1:10; Phil. 1:1; Tit. 1:1; Jas. 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:1; Jude 1). As the Christians used it, the term conveys the idea of complete and utter devotion, not the abjectness which was the normal condition of the slave. Paul is affirming that he belongs to Christ without reservation

Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), 36–37.

The Epistle to the Romans A. Salutation, 1:1–7

The term is applied to Abraham (Gen. 26:24), to Moses (Josh. 1:2), and to the prophets from the time of Amos (Amos 3:7; Isa. 20:3). Paul may thus be quietly affirming that he stands in the true succession of the prophets. If this is in mind, it may be significant that he speaks of himself as the slave, not of God (as the prophets did), but of Christ. He puts Christ in the highest possible place.12

To the left is a graph of the new testament usage of slave=25x. The graph should be inspecting to see if the usage as an self introduction. Even John the Baptist articulate as of all the saints”He must increase, but i must decrease “!